


Mr. Loverboy

by mixersmove



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Established Relationship, Fluff, M/M, My First Work in This Fandom, Secret Relationship
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-04-23
Updated: 2014-07-10
Packaged: 2018-01-20 11:39:28
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,842
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1509104
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mixersmove/pseuds/mixersmove
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dr. Arthur Pendragon is the most sought after doctor at Camelot General -even though he was recently married. Merlin is the newest nurse at Camelot General and is forced into joining Dr. Pendragon's massive fan club, even though he really doesn't seem all that interested.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Are You There God? Its Me, Niall](https://archiveofourown.org/works/758130) by [wendydarling](https://archiveofourown.org/users/wendydarling/pseuds/wendydarling). 



> I've done as much research on hospitals as I can, but I've never actually worked in one. Please bear with me if I get things wrong. I promise to try and keep it as realistic as possible. All grammar and spelling mistakes are my own.
> 
> This work was inspired by a One Direction fic. It was so lovely I had to spin my own story involving Merlin and Arthur! :]
> 
> Also, this is just a mini prologue. The rest of the chapters will be in Merlin's point of view and be focused on him.

Arthur Pendragon had many titles: son, brother, uncle, friend, and doctor. Some of his titles had their own titles that came along with them. For example, brother might come along with little, or maybe even annoying -or both, depending on Morgana’s mood-, and son would most likely come along with disappointment. But the most interesting one was the title doctor. As it was, Arthur was Chief Surgeon at Camelot General and was the youngest the hospital had ever had in all of it’s 70 years of existence. Patients adored him, nurses worshipped him, and fellow surgeons respected him and admired him greatly. If the gossiping nurses were to be trusted, Arthur was _the hottest_ doctor at Camelot.

Who was he to disagree with the many nurses that talked about him in the locker rooms?

Another thing that came along with being _the hottest,_ was that he was also the most sought after. Men and women alike made it all to very clear that they were available, often coming by his locker in their underclothes to show just how _available_ they were. Many dinner invitations and hotel key cards found their way into his locker or, once, in his lunch sack. He always laughed them off and politely declined -when there was a name, but most usually there was no name, just an eerie note saying show up at this location; which was a very good way on how _not_ to get Arthur’s attention.

Unfortunately, for all the singles vying to be the next Mr or Mrs Arthur Pendragon, their chances are gone. Doctor Arthur Pendragon went on vacation and married his very secret lover.

~*~

“Vivian,” Sophia hissed, using her bony elbow to jab her friend on the arm. “Please tell me my eyesight is starting to fail me and I’ll need bottle glasses for the rest of my life.”

Not even looking up from the chart she was entering into the computer, Vivian heaved a sigh. “What is it? Aren’t you supposed to be working?”

Sophia rolled her eyes. “I’m gonna pass it off to the new guy. Room 12 has an ingrown toe nail and no way am I involving myself with that!” Shuddering delicately, Sophia shook her head quickly. “I’d rather die. Anyways! Please look at Doctor Pendragon!”

Vivian’s attention was finally pulled from her paperwork and she looked up eagerly, a smile softening her features. “I forgot he was due back today!” It was actually a miracle that she had forgotten, seeing as for the past week, it was all any of the ladies -and a few men- could talk about. Dr. Pendragon’s return home from his month long vacation in France had been the main topic, no matter what part of the hospital you worked in. Even the janitors were aware of Dr. Pendragon’s homecoming. Sighing again, this time more adoringly and breathy, Vivian eyed Dr. Pendragon with obvious appreciation. “He’s so fit it kills me.”

“Yes, yes,” Sophia said impatiently, waving her hand irritably. “That’s been established. What I want to know is why is there a ring on his finger?”

With a frown, Vivian cocked her head to the right and tried to focus on Dr. Pendragon’s left hand. Glinting subtly was a new gold band that certainly hadn’t been there before. Her lips parted in surprise and her eyes widened comically. “Holy shit- I think he’s married!” Vivian’s voice dropped to a whisper and she leaned closer to Sophia. “Who do you think it is?”

“This seriously disrupts my 5 year plan,” Sophia whined, completely ignoring the question directed her way. “Daddy always said to marry the richest and most handsome man I could find. He’s both the richest and the handsomest! Now what am I going to do when Christmas time comes? Who will escort me to all the parties?”

Vivian looked at her friend and shook her head. “You need help.”

“Is it so wrong to want what’s best for me?” Sophia demanded. “I bet whoever she is, she’s a tramp. A gold-digging tramp who is not good enough for Dr. Pendragon.” She grabbed Vivian’s arm and dug her nails in, her dark frown being replaced by a sunny smile. “Here he comes.”

“Ladies,” Dr. Pendragon said cordially, nodding at them with a polite smile. 

“Good morning, Dr. Pendragon,” Sophia breathed out, fluttering her eyelashes at him as prettily as she could.

“Alright, then, Dr. Pendragon?” Vivian managed to say without squeaking. “Have a good holiday?”

Dr. Pendragon’s face melted in a soft expression, a smile playing on the corners of his full lips. “Best holiday ever,” he said almost dreamily. Straightening up, Dr. Pendragon’s eyes tracked someone across the room and he bid a hasty goodbye to the two nurses. “Have a nice day, ladies.”

Both women turned to see who had captured Dr. Pendragon’s attention and Sophia scoffed when she saw the newest nurse, Merlin Emerson.

“You know, he was late this morning. Came flying in like a bat out of hell. Nearly spilt his coffee all over me he did! Rumour has it, he came with two glowing recommendations and even a letter from Dr. Kilgarrah from the board! Personally, I think he’s a walking disaster and not fit to work alongside me.” Sophia probably would have flicked her hair over her shoulder if it hadn’t been drawn back in a bun at the nape of her neck.

“Why am I friends with you?” Vivian tried to get back to work, but her mind kept wandering back to the fact that Dr. Pendragon now had a wedding ring; there was no mistaking the golden band for anything but. She wondered who he was married to -and when had that started? Last she had heard, Dr. Pendragon wasn’t even dating anyone, let alone engaged to someone. Truth be told, Vivian didn’t know much about Dr. Pendragon outside of the hospital. As vice-president of the secret Dr. Pendragon fan club, Vivian would find out who Dr. Pendragon’s wife was.

“-she’s probably not even pretty!” While Vivian had been lost in thought, Sophia was ranting and raving about Dr. Pendragon’s mystery wife.

_‘I’ll find out who she is so I can have her put in some sort of protective programme to save her from Sophia’_ Vivian added mentally.

“Oi! You, Mervin! I need you to take care of Room 12!” Sophia bustled off, flagging down the new nurse, Merlin. She gave him no time to argue before she stalked off to check on her patients. Sophia may not have the best bedside manner, but she was actually quite intelligent. Particularly when it came to getting her what she wanted.

 


	2. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A million thanks go out to my lovely beta Katie, who also was kind enough to Brit-pick this for me! She's the best for putting up with my writing. Any other mistakes are mine, because I tinkered with things after she dealt with the first draft. Oops.

Merlin Emerson had met Arthur Pendragon when he was 8 years old. He had been playing at the park by himself, using only his imagination and his stuffed dragon as tools of entertainment, when a boy a couple years older had stolen his toy and began taunting Merlin. The boy had called Merlin a big baby and other cruel names- most of which Merlin didn’t even understand, but by the tone, their meaning was pretty clear. Merlin had tried not to cry, but the boy was just being so mean! That’s when Arthur had arrived. With a shout, he had come striding over with as much authority as a ten year old could muster and had snatched Merlin’s stuffed dragon free from its tormentor, brandishing his finger and wagging it as only a parent usually did. Arthur had told the bully off and warned him to never come near Merlin again.

Surprisingly, the bully had listened and made a hasty retreat, and from that day on Merlin worshipped the ground that Arthur walked on. Of course, it wasn’t all sunshine and daisy’s seeing as Arthur had some sort of hero complex and Merlin just wanted to play with his dragon, but they made their friendship work. As the two got older, Merlin’s love for Arthur shifted into less of a worshipful state and more of a best mate love. He often called Arthur out on his ‘prattish ways’ and teased him when he was being a ‘posh clotpole’. Arthur, in return, kept Merlin from getting a big head over being the smartest in his class by reminding him what an utter idiot he was and by telling him how useless he was at real life stuff. Neither boy’s insults were meant maliciously, but to an unknowing passerby, they appeared to dislike each other a lot.

Then Merlin turned 14 and discovered he liked blokes more than he liked birds, which hadn’t been much of a surprise seeing as back in primary school Merlin had run away when the girl next door had tried to kiss him. He hadn’t been afraid, as Arthur had laughingly told him, he just hadn’t liked the idea of a girl’s lips near his own. Along with discovering he was gay, Merlin’s feelings for Arthur once again shifted, this time into an annoying crush that had him clumsily dropping things around Arthur and getting tongue-tied when they spoke. To cover up his newly discovered feelings, Merlin began distancing himself from Arthur and started hanging out with an old childhood friend, Will. Unfortunately for Merlin, Will quickly figured out why Merlin was suddenly hanging out with him again and told Merlin to go back to Arthur and confess his feelings.

However, Merlin never got the chance.

The very same day that Will told Merlin off for being a coward, Merlin’s mother, Hunith, collapsed at work and was taken to hospital. His mother had weak heart chambers and had been taken to surgery right away. Merlin’s Uncle Gaius, a close family friend who’d always lived nearby, had flown in from London all the way to their small city, to see Hunith and to keep an eye on Merlin at home, whilst Hunith had stayed in hospital for two weeks under strict observation.

Despite Merlin spending every bit of spare time he had by his mother’s side, Arthur had managed to catch up with Merlin on the day after Hunith had been hospitalised, demanding to know why Merlin was avoiding him. To Arthur’s surprise, Merlin had broken down in tears and told Arthur that his mother was in the hospital. He told Arthur how scared he had been, and how all he had wanted was Arthur to hold him and tell him everything was okay. It was then that Merlin’s feelings unwittingly come out.

“I just wanted you there! I needed you with me and you weren’t there. All because I was too much of a coward to tell you how I felt about you. It was the scariest moment of my life, Arthur. She was just laying there looking so pale!”

Amidst his rambling, Merlin hadn’t noticed that he had just told Arthur of his less than platonic feelings for him. Arthur, however, had caught on. He began laughing and was too far gone to acknowledge Merlin’s squawk of dismay, choosing instead to pull Merlin into his arms and declare him the world’s biggest idiot.

“I feel the same way.”

Those five words would change Merlin’s life forever.

After the mutual confession, the boys returned to how they were before Merlin began avoiding Arthur. Nothing changed straight away as neither could focus on starting a relationship, whilst Hunith was ill; both boys just wanted to focus on helping her get better. But now they knew they both felt the same way, they could explore their feelings for each other later, there was no rush.

And one month later, they did exactly that. Merlin had just gotten home from school, tired and not in the best of moods. His teachers were on his back about preparing for A-Levels and were piling both schoolwork and homework on extra thick, whilst Arthur was already in college and was of course excelling in all of his classes. As Merlin stomped up the stairs and through his bedroom door, Arthur was waiting for Merlin, sitting on the bed and looking uncharacteristically nervous...the nerves were explained when Merlin received his first kiss that day. Exactly three weeks after their first kiss, Arthur asked Merlin to be his boyfriend.

When they came out to their families as a couple, it went better than either could have ever dreamed of. Hunith cried; Morgana was sweetly indifferent, warning Arthur not to break Merlin’s heart - despite the fact she should have given that speech to Merlin, seeing as Arthur was her sibling; and Uther had the most surprising reaction of all. He was a little miffed his son wouldn’t be marrying a nice young lady, but he tolerated their relationship in the best way he could. True, Uther usually ignored the fact that his son was gay, but he never spoke against them and even went as far as firing one of his top workers for making a homophobic remark against Arthur. Uther supported them in his own way. And of course Gaius... well, he insisted that he had seen this coming from a mile away.

There were naturally arguments, breakups, make-ups, and fits of jealousy throughout the years, but they always came back to one another. They both chose to go into the medical field; Hunith’s health scares spurring them on to learn how to help people like her. It wasn’t anything they discussed with each other, but when it came out in a conversation one day, they just saw it as one more way of fate keeping them together.

Arthur went off to Scotland to go start his medical degree, whilst Merlin stayed, finished college and received a scholarship to Oxford University to study medicine. Merlin chose to become a nurse and after all was said and done, Merlin returned to their small town to do his nursing clinical, whilst Arthur went on to London to do his residency at Camelot General.

Being apart was both a blessing and a curse for their relationship. They missed each other terribly, but it also granted them room to grow into themselves, whilst still remaining a hold on who they were as a couple.

One year after Arthur was signed on as Camelot’s Chief surgeon and Merlin completed his training as a nurse, Arthur proposed and Merlin accepted very enthusiastically.

When it came to his life outside of work, Arthur was very private. He wasn’t ashamed of Merlin or anything like that. He just preferred not to mix his two worlds. They agreed that when Merlin transferred to Camelot General, they would remain as professional as possible and not give away any clues as to their lives with each other.

Merlin hoped he would be able to maintain a professional facade around his new husband. At home they had a very hard time keeping their hands to themselves; they always had to be touching in some way, whether it be holding hands or their ankles linked whilst they sat on the sofa watching telly.

~*~

Merlin sighed, grabbing the chart off the rack for room 12. He knew that getting all the dodgy jobs passed on to him was part of being the new guy, but couldn’t Sophia at least try to remember his name? He had managed to remember all the names of the people he now worked with. Perhaps Sophia did remember and just chose to pretend not to, probably because of the fact he had knocked into her this morning and almost doused her with his coffee. She definitely seemed the type to hold a grudge. Either way, he was now stuck with checking in on the poor man with the ingrown toenail. He pasted a friendly smile before poking his head around the curtain, skilfully hiding a grimace at the foot that was suspended right at eye level. This was the most extreme case of an ingrown toenail Merlin had ever seen. Had the man come in to a doctor sooner, this probably could have all been avoided. But who was Merlin to judge?

After making sure the man in 12 was as comfortable as he could possibly be and that his vitals were all normal, Merlin left the man in peace and finished his rounds. Working in ‘The Pit’  as the nurses and doctors of CGH had so lovingly dubbed the A&E area, meant there was never a moment’s rest. There was always a patient that needed checking on, someone who needed something, or multiple tests to be ordered for various patients. Merlin did his best to keep hysterical parents with injured or sick children as calm as he could - and said children calm as well - while also dealing with the more closed lip patients who did shady things and couldn’t explain their injuries. All in all, the variety of patients that came in every day kept Merlin on his toes.

“Mr. Emerson.”

Glancing up from his sorting of blood sample vials, Merlin saw a dark haired beauty giving him a friendly smile.

“Hello,” Merlin replied cheerfully. He didn’t recognise this girl, but any friendly face was always welcome in Merlin’s book.

“Mr. Emerson, I’m Miss Smithy from Insurance. I’m here to verify whether something is considered a medical emergency or not.”

Merlin abandoned his task of sorting the vials by colour - some idiot had just dumped them in the bucket and called it good - and straightened up to give Miss Smithy his full attention.

“Alright, how can I help you? Also, please, call me Merlin. Mr. Emerson is what everyone calls me Da.”

“Then you may call me Gwen,” Miss Smithy replied with another smile. “I have a client who has come to the A&E over 4 times in the past three weeks alone. From the records, it shows he was never actually admitted into the hospital ward for overnight stay, yet he continues to come back, complaining of the same symptoms. I was wondering if I could have your professional opinion.”

“Now, Guinevere, you know that is against the rules.”

Both Gwen and Merlin turned to find Lancelot Du Lac, one of the paramedics who often hung around during his breaks, checking on the patients he had delivered to the A&E. He was a handsome fellow that often made the female nurses mentally swoon every time he smiled that heart-warming smile of his that made people go weak in the knees.

So, maybe Merlin had noticed that Lancelot had an extremely nice smile. It wasn’t a crime. Arthur even agreed with him.

“If you have a question about someone’s case, you have to go to the attending doctor on duty.” Lancelot again smiled that stupidly perfect smile of his, his eyes twinkling with a warmth and understanding that belittled his words. “But you already knew that, didn’t you?”

Gwen gave a huff. “He won’t talk to me. He says he doesn’t have time!” She threw her hands up in the air, frustration colouring her earlier composure for a moment. “I know Arthur is a busy man, but I’m just trying to do my job, not question his staff’s intelligence.”

Merlin perked up at the mention of his husband; a thrill shooting up his spine as he was once again reminded that they were now married. Arthur wasn’t his boyfriend, or his fiancé, but his husband. He tried to keep a dopey grin from spreading across his face, but he couldn’t stop himself from fiddling with the golden wedding band on his left hand. Merlin doubted he would ever get tired of doing an internal happy dance every time he thought of his husband. His perfectly perfect and wondrous husband.

“ - I believe you are the only one who isn’t in Pendragon’s fan club,” Lancelot was saying by the time Merlin silenced his inner monologue of how Arthur was the best husband in the world.

“Fan club?” Merlin said dumbly, interrupting Lancelot mid sentence. “What fan club?”

Lancelot turned his smile to Merlin, shaking his head a little. “Trust me Merlin, you don’t want to get mixed up with that crowd. They practically worship the ground Pendragon walks on. If Arthur ever found out that they spent their lunch times gossiping about which hair products he uses and whether they think he’s a boxer or briefs guy, well, I don’t think it would go down very well.”

Gesturing to Gwen, Lancelot laughed quietly. “You’re looking at the only woman under the age of fifty who isn’t a part of the club.”

Gwen shrugged. “Arthur is a very nice man, he’s just not my type.”

He’s my type, Merlin wanted to say, but he held his tongue. He was intrigued by the idea that Arthur had his own personal fan club. That was something Merlin should be president of. He did, after all, have the right since he was Arthur’s biggest fan and had been since he was eight years old. Trust Arthur to not even consider that he would have an effect on anyone besides Merlin. The fool was so loyal and had eyes only for Merlin, it made Merlin want to kiss him. How long had it been since Merlin had last kissed Arthur? Over three hours? That was going to be a problem.

“Merlin?”

“Yes?” Merlin returned from his Arthur cloud and blinked owlishly at Gwen who was looking at him with an amused smile that was tinged with exasperation.

“Whether you know it or not, I think you’ve already joined the Pendragon fan club,” Gwen said with a shake of her head. “You were thinking about him, weren’t you?” Merlin could honestly say that he had been thinking about Arthur. But not for the reasons Gwen had so clearly imagined. “I’ll let you get back to sorting that tray out... and to thinking about how fit Dr. Pendragon looks on the days he rides his bike to the hospital. All sweaty and clad in tight clothing.” With a wink, Gwen turned and walked away.

“Don’t tease the poor boy, he’s new,” Lancelot said, hurrying after Gwen after giving Merlin a pat on the shoulder. Their conversation faded from Merlin’s hearing range as they walked.

Merlin’s hands were shaking as he tried to return to sorting the vials back into proper order. Thanks to Gwen, all Merlin could think about was Arthur covered in sweat, except he didn’t need to use the tight clothes suggestion, not when he had his own memories of a naked Arthur laying flush against Merlin’s own naked skin. Slumping against the tray, Merlin mournfully counted the hours until he would be able to see Arthur at home. He also made a mental note to try and find out more about this fan club. He was going to have to be more careful with his mooning over Arthur, if they were to keep their marriage private from the hospital gossips. Perhaps Merlin should revert to his teenage self, the one who didn’t put up with Arthur’s more prattish days.

Maybe that would throw them off of thinking Merlin fancied Camelot’s Chief Surgeon.

Who also happened to be Merlin’s _husband_.


End file.
